Coco n ut' Li xos' EWi#f#s;

PALMS Nunes Warick and Castilho Leal: Coconut lixas Volume 44(1) 2000 Occurrence of Durcp RpcrNe NuNrs Wlnwrcr Coco n ut' Li xos' EWi#f#s; AND Cp 44, Aracaju in Brazilian Sergipe Cep 49001-970 Brazil Native Palms in the Northeastern Coastal Plain Some native palms of Brazil may serve as a reservoir for these fungal diseases of coconuts. Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) was first introduced into Brazil by the Portuguese in 1553 and today is widely grown along the coastal areas of the northeastern region, which provides 92 per cent of national production. In more recent years, there is a vast interest for growing dwarf coconut trees for water utilization, only in S5o Paulo State a daily consumption of 100 000 tender fuuits has been estimated. On average, yearly production of coconut is 3,377 fruits/ha (Cuenca 7994), a consequence of irregular rainfall distribution, low yielding varieties and attack by a number of insect pests and diseases. Two leaf diseases are responsible for considerable losses in different growing regions of Brazil: lixa pequena or small verrucosis, caused bypftyllachora torr endiell a Subileau f= C atacauma torcendiell a Batista (Batista, 1948 and Subileau, 1993)l andlixa grande or large verrucosis, caused by Sphaerodothis acrocomiae (Montagne) von Arx & Muller [= Coccostroma palmicola (Speg) von Arx and Muller (]oly 1961)1. Lesions are diamond-shaped with a long axis parallel with the venation of the leaflets, having a crusty, black, wart-like texture and measuring 4-6 rnm x Z-4 mm fot P. torrendiella and 5-7 mm x 3-4mm for S. acrocomiae, which' has brown stromata. A chlorotic yellow halo surrounds the infected spot and the disease incidence can be quite high, such that large areas of tissue become necrotic. There are two other species of Catacauma reported to occur in palm trees, C. mucosum in Butia, Cocos and Syagrus spp., while Acoelorrhaphe wrighii, Livistona chinensis, Sabal causiarum, S. etonia, S. mexicana, S. minor, S. palmetto, S. umbraculifera, Syagrus romanzoffiana and Washingtonia robusta have been reported as hosts of Catacauma sabal (Chase& Broschat 1991).-loly (1961) reported the fungus S. acrocomiae in Ac'rocomia aculeata but this palm is the only one reported as host fot lixa grande disease. Since coconut was introduced from the Old World and the two fungi are obligate parasites, our work was to discover which palm species native to Brazil are natural reservoirs, to compare the distribution of the fi,vo diseases with the natural occurrence of the susceptible palm species, and also to find different species of Phyllachora or Sphaerodothis. PALMS 44(1): 9-l 3

PALMS N u n e s W a r i c k a n d C a s t i l h o L e a l :C o c o n u t l i x a s '1. Attolea funifera. Field surveys Field trips were carried out in the statesof Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco and Bahia. Leaves were collected, samples of the material found infected by the fungi were placed under the microscope and fungal structures were carefully examined. Surveys were conducted mainly during the rainy season.attalea funifera, known as PiassavaPalm, in the statesofalagoas, Bahia and Sergipe, was collected in Piagabugu County (Al) and Itaporanga d'ajuda (Se).This palm tree has a stem around 15m and the leaves are long, the crown being funnel-shaped (Figure 1). The fronds serve as roofing material and the fiber used for broom manufacture. Two Syagrus species were collected, 1. the ubiquitous Syagruscoronzta (Fig. 2). It is known as arikury, ouricuri, Iicury, or licurizeiropalm and 2. S. schizophylla (coco babdo ot arycurioba).arikury palm has potential for landscaping in regions with low rainfall, as it occurs in a region of transition between the forest and the bush land. The fronds of the palm provide material for roofing, hats and other handicrafts. The mesocarp is edible and the Ieavesyields wax. Syagrusschizophyllais found in 10 V o l u m e4 4 ( 1 ) 2 0 0 0 2. Syagruscoronoto. sandy soil near the seashore,and can be used as an ornamental and has a sweet mesocarp which can be eaten (Fig. 3). Acrocomiaintumescenswas collected from the State of Pernambuco, where it occurs in forest; its fruits are used as a source of oil (from the endosperm) and the mesocarpis edible. Samplesof Allagoptera brevicalyx,knor,rrnas caxand6 or buri-da-praia, wete found in the County of Itaporanga d'ajuda, Pirambu and EstAncia.It is a small acaulescentpalm that occurs on loose sand on beaches, on dunes and in scrub woodlands (Uhl & Dransfield 1987).InBrazilit occurs mainly in the Statesof Bahia and Sergipe,and can be used for landscaping. The sweet fruits are appreciated by small animals (fig. a). Bactris ferruginea (Man6-veio)was collected in Sergipe and Bahia, it occurs in the coastal forest land, and has a potential for landscaping; the leaves yields a good fiber and the fruits can be eaten. Disease distribution The surveysindicated differencesin the occurrence of lixas in the different palm species and are

PALMS N u n e s W a r i c k a n d C a s t i l h o L e a l :C o c o n u t l i x a s V o l u m e4 4 ( 1 ) 2 0 0 0 Table 1. Occurrenceofthedifferentlixas inthenativepalmtreesof thenortheasterncoastalplain of Brazil, with the natural distribution of Palm speciesin the country Species Acrocomiaintumescens AII agoptera brevicalyx Attalea funifera Bactris fem.rginea Syagruscoronata Syagrusschizophylla* P. torendiella S. acrocomiae Distribution AL,CE,PB,PE BA, SE AI, BA,SE AL,BA,PB,PE,SE AL,SE,BA,PE,MG AL,BA,ES,PE,SE * This palm specieswas found to be host to another Phyllachora,which produces similar symptoms to lbg pequena. reported in Table 1; also the distribution of the palm speciescan be seen in the map of Brazil (Figure 5). Acrocomia intumescenswas the only speciesfound to be free from both fungi. Lixa pequena (Phyllachora torrendiela) was the fungus with the wider host range. It was collected from Syagruscoronata,Allagoptera brevicalyx and Bactris femrginea. The first symptoms of this diseaseare small black, charcoal-like fruiting bodies formed superficially on the leaflets, midribs or even on the fruits. This formation, known as stroma is either found 3. Syogrusschizophyllo. isolated, in lines, or in a diamond shape, the number of the formations is usually very high and difficult to count (Fig.6). Lateq the plant tissue around the stroma forms brown, necrotic lesions, which enlarge to about 2 x 15 cm. Numerous brown areascoalesce,the leaflets become necrotic and the whole leaf collapses.lixa pequenais widespread in the different coconut regions from the Amazon area to the State of Rio de Janeiro (Renard,1988 and Warwick, 1989). Sphaerodothis acrocomiaewas found only in Attalea funifera. As a coconut diseaseit occurs in a most restricted area along the Atlantic Ocean (eight States), while P. torrendiella occurs from Par6 to S5oPaulo State(17 States)(Fig.5, 8). The stromata of this fungus are brown, larger and more superficial than in the previous fungus described. The fungus has a claviform ascusand the spores, bror,rrnwhen mature, are surrounded by mucus. A different species of Phyllachora was found in Syagrusschizophylla (Fig. 7). It has been sent to a mycologist for identification. Inoculation tests Pathogenicity tests were carried out in a coconut nursery; seedlings of the palms were placed near coconut palms which were contaminated by the two lixas for natural inoculation. Symptoms were 4. Allogoptero brevicolyx. 11

PALMS Nunes Warick and Castilho Leal: Coconut lixas Volume 44(1) 2O0O Lixo Fequenu ffi Suscepfihle spectes 5. Distribution of lixo pequena (Phyllochoro torrendiello) in relation to the natural occurrence of susceptible palm species. 6. Fruiting bodies (stroma) of lixa pequena. 7. A species of Phyllachora on Syagrus schizophyllo 12

PALMS Nunes Warick and Castilho Leal: Coconut lixas Volume 44(1) 2000 W Lixs Grsnde W xtses njruhrfl 8. Distribution of lixo grande (Spoerodothis ocrocomioe) in relation to the natural occurence of susceptible palm species. recorded three months later. The inoculation trial confirmed the data; none of the palm species was infected by the two fungi and the host range was the same as found in nature. Conclusion The two lixas are particular to palm species - in another words, a host to lixa grande was not found to be host to lixa pequena, only coconuts can be infected by both fungi. The capacity of lixa pequena to infect more palm species may explain the fact that the disease has a wider distribution in Brazil than lixa grande. It can be concluded from this work that coconut planting done in areas where these other palm species do not occur should be carried out with seedlings free from both lixa diseases. Surveys in other regions of Brazil will be continued in order to understand better the distribution of these two fungi. Acknowledgments We would like to thank Luiz Fernando Brito de Carvalho for preparing the maps and Erivaldo Fonseca for helping to collect the palm samples. Llrrnerunn Crrpn BArrsrA, A. C. 1948. Catacaumatorrendiella N. tp.; Agente da verrugose do coqueiro. Boletim da S.A. T.C., v.15, 2:-1.29-133. CHasr, A. R..q,No BRoscHAt, T.K.1991. Diseases and disorders of ornamental palms. APS Press, St. Paul 56 pp. CunNCA, M.A.G.1994. Importdncia econ6mica do coqueiro. In: FnnnunA, J.M.S., WanwIcx, D.R.N. anp SIeuuna, L. A.( Eds.) Cultura do coqueiro no Brasil. Aracaju:EMBRAPA-SPI. 309 pp. Jorv, P. 1961. Le geme Sphaerodoflzis Sherr. Bull. Res. Counc. Isr. 10B: 1,87-1.93. RENlno, J.L.1988. Rapport de mission de ddfense de cultures au Br6si1, Cocotier- Paris, IRHO, 2111, 28 pp. SuurEnu,C. 1993. Syst6matique et biologie du complexe parasitaire constitu6 du Phyllachora torrendiela (Bat.) fi6v. comb. et du Botryosphaeria cocogena nov. sp., agents fongiques du dessdchament foliare du cocotier au Br6sil. Paris: Universit6 Paris 6, l2l pp. UHr, N. W.,q.Nl J. DReNsrtnro. 1987. Genera Palmarum: a classification of palms based on the work of H. E. Moore, Jr. International Palm Society and L. H. Bailey Hortorium, Lawrence, Kansas, USA. Wnnwrcx, D.R.N. 1989. Principais doengas do coqueiro (C oco s nucifera L.) no Brasil. EMBRAPA /CNPCO(Aracaju) 26 pp. 13